Corsair, G.Skill, Mushkin, and Patriot X79 Quad-Channel Memory Review

Closer Look:

Having had the opportunity to look at a few of Corsair’s Vengeance series of modules in the past, the consensus was generally a performance value for your dollar with some serious headroom for the overclocker and enthusiast. These modules offer value and performance without having to step up to the Dominator line-up to get your performance and speed fix. Today, what we have from the traditional Vengeance line-up is a pair of 16 GB kits that total 32 GB of DRAM for use in an Intel X79 platform. The original Vengeance series modules were black, but since then, Corsair has offered up the Vengeance series in Blue, White, OD Green, Black, and Red – the version I am looking at today – to ensure that you can select a set that matches the rest of your components for that additional bling factor. Packaging-wise the Vengeance series CMZ16GX3M4X1866C9R modules come with almost identical packaging to the LP sets, save for the color and photo of the included modules. AMD and Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 systems are all supported at a memory speed of 1866 MHz. The back panel shows a glimpse of the modules, with specifications clearly stated. In the center of the back panel, there is short explanation of why Corsair modules are a good choice for an enthusiast build, in multiple languages nonetheless. The front panel also flips open to show off the full-size Vengeance modules.

It’s clear that the standard Vengeance modules are much different than the low profile version, at least in the looks department. These Vengeance DDR3 modules – part number CMZ16GX3M4X1866C9R – are rated to run at PC3-15000 or 1866 MHz, with latencies of 9-10-9-27 at a low 1.5 V. Undoubtedly, these red modules will look great sitting in a red and black themed board such as the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme.

The heat spreader used by Corsair on the Vengeance modules is what makes these modules unique. Standing at roughly 1.875 inches tall from top to bottom, these modules are shorter than the Dominator GTX8 modules by 0.5 inches. Even so, they are still an imposing size. The shields are made of stamped aluminum and are held together by the sticker across the top and clips on each end. Thermal tape holds the heat spreader to the memory ICs.

As with any tall module, there will be some clearance concerns when trying to populate all of the DIMM slots while using a large air cooling solution. However, the additional height of the modules allows them to shed heat more effectively when overvolted. At the rated 1.5 V voltage, the thermal load that needs to be transferred through to the spreaders is such that the heat shields are going to function more for looks than function.